Spring Soba Salad

Spring is finally here! The weather is heating up in San Francisco after a particularly chilly winter, I couldn’t be happier. When I was growing up, warmer months meant chilled dishes like hiyashi chuka, Hawaii-style somen salad, Japanese-style somen (served on a glass plate and over ice to cool you down) and of course, soba salad. Soba salad also makes an easy, make-ahead lunch! Here’s my California take on a classic soba salad.

Instructions:First, toast your sesame seeds on a pan over the stove for a few minutes, until fragrant. I re-toast them even if the package says they are toasted because I think it helps coax out the flavor. Remove from the heat and cool for five minutes.

Toss the toasted sesame seeds into a blender and blend until it starts to stick together and becomes paste-like. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and blend again until well combined.

Reheat soba noodles according to package instructions. I prefer to use refrigerated or frozen soba noodles because the springy texture is far superior to dried soba noodles. If you don’t have access to a Japanese grocery store, dried soba works fine in this recipe, too.

Toss soba noodles with dressing. Arrange remaining ingredients artfully on top of each bowl. Sprinkle with sansho powder and serve!